Alfred Hitchcock famously described Hollywood legend Grace Kelly as a “snow covered volcano”. Outwardly demure and born with an innately cool and classic style but inwardly smouldering with passion (much like me…if only!). She had affairs with many of her (often much older) leading men from Clark Gable to Bing Crosby. However, her millionaire Irish immigrant father was very controlling, forcing her to end relationships he considered unsuitable.
When she won her Oscar for The Country Girl he was quoted as saying “I simply can’t believe Grace won. Of the four children, she’s the last one I’d expected to support me in my old age.” Grace Kelly’s driving motivation to become a successful actress and subsequently one of the most famous women in the world was her father’s approval. It was also why her lovers, before she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco, were often father figures.
I tell you all this because you won’t find any mention of it at the V&A’s new exhibition Grace Kelly: Style Icon which opened on Saturday. According to the blurb the exhibition “explores, through her surviving clothes, the story of her transformation from Hollywood actress to a princess of one of Europe’s oldest royal families.” As most of the dresses must be on loan from said Royals, the Grimaldi family, we get the official version of Grace Kelly’s life.
The result is a chance to see some of her most famous outfits with supporting pictures, film reels, magazine covers and posters but without a real insight into her personal life and what made her so enigmatic and charismatic.
Still, it’s fascinating to see the gorgeous tiny-waisted costumes she wore like this dress…:
…when she played the imperious Tracy Lord in High Society, even if it has faded to grey from the baby blue of the film. High Society was her last film. She never made another after moving to Monaco aged 27. Tragic.
The focus is firmly on frocks with dresses from her early Hollywood years such as the classic black chiffon dress she wore in one of my all time favourite films Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Then there are haute couture suits, dresses and coats from her princess years from designers such as Dior and this classic Chanel suit:
It seems Grace nearly always wore white gloves (there are pairs for sale in homage in the tiny shop tucked away at the back) because of her Irish Catholic upbringing. It brought back memories of hot itchy hands when I had to wear them at my confirmation.
I had to laugh when my friend turned to me as we were about to go in and asked completely deadpan: “Do you think her incredible beauty was a handicap?” Oh yes definitely, I replied. Such a handicap she was one of the most photographed women in the world, became a princess and lived in a palace. That said, apparently Grace discovered Prince Rainier’s short temper and tendency to fall asleep when bored (often in public) a few years into their marriage. And if she had ever divorced him, he would have retained custody of their three children. However, she died in a car accident on a hair-pin bend aged 52 (look out for the picture of her and another very young Princess who met the same fate in a car crash in France).
If you like fashion, and more importantly if you value style, this exhibition is worth seeing.
It runs until 26th September and tickets can be booked here.
